The U.S. has officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. President Trump announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement in 2017. However, the Agreement prohibited any country from providing a notice of withdrawal until three years after the date of ratification—in the case of the U.S., November 4, 2016. The Trump Administration formally notified the United Nations of the U.S.’s intention to withdraw from the Agreement in November 2019. Due to the 12-month notice requirement in the Agreement, the U.S.’s withdraw officially went into effect today.

The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions. The Agreement provides several means to reach this goal, including a long-term temperature goal; mitigation, adaptation, and financial support measures; and nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The U.S. is the first of 188 parties to the Agreement to withdraw.